Bellata Family

There’s a particular advantage to being a native denizen of the ocean--one that is often overlooked. A great many things lie beneath its surface waiting to be found: ancient sunken civilizations, husks of drowned ships both new and old, even objects that have been cast into the deep simply for the purpose of forgetting them. Land-bound collectors are always eager to empty their pockets for a piece of treasure from the bottom of the sea. Chances are if the treasure they seek is of a rare or valuable caliber, it will have passed through the hands of the Bellata Family.

The Bellatas deal in rare artifacts and antiquities. Through generations of high standards, their house has built such a reputation and amassed such wealth that they’ve carved themselves a place in high society, Varonian and Triton alike. Excellence is everything to a Bellata, especially when it comes to the family progeny. It comes as little surprise that an empire of antique dealers would seek to push their lineage into the ranks of nobility.

Family History

 * Year 0: End of the Endless War
 * Year 2: The Citadel negotiates open borders with the mainland.
 * Year 5: Union of Amada Bellata (20) and Von Ilsa (27), a wealthy former expeditionist from Varonia
 * Year 35: Amada and Von foster an heir, Hiron Bellata.
 * Year 67: Von Ilsa passes and is buried in an undersea memorial garden by his cliffside home in Flash.
 * Year 70: Hiron marries and begins his family. He and Amada found the family business.
 * Year 85: Amada retires and passes the company on to Hiron.
 * Year 90: Bellata Estate begins construction over top of Von's cliffside home
 * Year 100: Sonora is born, the first of Hiron's children.
 * Year 135: Hiron retires and passes the company on to Sonora.
 * Year 143: Union of Sonora Bellata (43) and Loroso Silves (82), a steward of the Silver Trident
 * Year 145: Clarion is born, the first of Sonora's children.
 * Year 161: Loroso retires from the Silver Trident and joins Sonora full-time at the estate.
 * Year 174: Fidelio is born, the seventh of Sonora's children.
 * Year 187: Amada passes and is laid to rest beside Von.

Sonora and Loroso
The best way to describe the current head of the Bellata Family would be "linked at the waist." They are seemingly never without each other, and even when Sonora is attached to her desk managing the company, her husband is not far off working on his memoir. Loroso knows he may be something of an armpiece for his wife when it comes to business matters, but he's very enamored with her and likes to prove it constantly. He enjoys acting ignorant to the intricacies of mainland culture, while she loves pretending to boss him around. They renew their vows to each other every decade or so, just so they have the excuse to act like newlyweds.

Sonora has a taste for the latest jewelry and fashion. She's sometimes very forgetful of the most obvious things, but has a keen eye for tiny details. Her heart truly lies in Flash, where she was born and raised. She likes to come down to the showroom in person for high-ranking clients, but as her 100th birthday approaches, she looks forward to passing on her company to her eldest, as is tradition, and living out a blissful retirement with Loroso.

Loroso still stubbornly dresses in traditional Triton garb despite having lived in Flash for decades. If you let him, he'll talk on and on about the sea serpents and daring exploits from his time serving as a Steward in The Citadel. His old ceremonial trident hangs in the atrium as a showpiece. He has made sure that all of his children have accompanied him at least once on his trips every so often to the Triton homeland." S: Grandmother did always go on and on about each of us 'finding a Von of our own...'' "" L: 'May I presume myself to be adequate stand-in, my dear?' "" S: 'My dashing Steward in silver? I'm sure she would approve.' "" She laughs and elegantly places a hand on her husband's shoulder. "" S: 'Now that we have all our little knights in a row, I believe it's weddings we get to look forward to next!' "" L: 'Well, let's not forget about Fidelio.' "" S: 'I thought you had a talk with him, dear.' "" L: 'I did indeed, but if he's determined to keep trying, you know what? I'm proud of him.' "" S: 'We're proud regardless.' "" L: 'Yes, regardless.' "

Clarion, Verity and Amista
Loroso and Sonora's children came in three waves, beginning with Clarion, Verity and Amista. All three all took to the family business after their knighthoods, the latter two forming a promising power-duo. With their mother still operating as the heart of business in Flash, they take care of long-distance matters.

Both Clarion and Verity married in a practical, timely manner. Clarion lives on his own island home with his husband and children, while Verity's extended family lives at the Estate while she is away on business. Amista is content with being single, as she has yet to meet anyone to suit her high standards and doubts she ever will.

Clarion
Age: 54

softer set, likes to meditate, inherited his mother's appreciation for jewelry ''"Fidelio? Ah yes, I hear he's still working on those silvers. I wish father hadn't pressured us all so. There's not much a "sir" can really do in front of a name besides look nice. It's the family name that matters. Ah!--watch the feet, darling!" He scoops up a loose child who has gotten curious with the sea chart on the floor.''

Verity
Age: 49

manic, but motherly. Has an eye and two ears for drama, and requires no excuse to involve herself in the business of her siblings ''"Always, always such a good child. After the trouble twins and Horatio, well! At least I never need to keep an eye on the window latches, or have Amista go over his accounts." She trades her glass of wine for a comedically thick pile of business correspondences. "I don't know what I would do without my sister. If her mind was a net, it would have so few holes that not even water would escape it!"''

Amista
Age: 43

sleekly dressed, cool as a cucumber. has never looked surprised a day in her life ''"Dependable. Hardworking. The best Bellata qualities. Though, he does have the habit of getting himself into sloppy moods." She glances up briefly from her immaculate ledger, pen poised. "I suppose great-grandmother would call that a Bellata quality as well."''

Seraphina, Oriana, Horatio and Fidelio
It wasn't until the second round of children that the family started to break out of its perfect mold and form a more lively dynamic.

Seraphina and Oriana were a handful to begin with and loved to sneak out of the estate together when they were young. They were both captivated by stories from diving expeditions, and after being knighted they demanded to be sent off together on the same ship. When Seraphina met a the owner of a hippocampi ranch and decided to quit the business, Oriana was miffed that her sister would choose a man over the childhood dream they had shared together.

Horatio was never the adventurous sort to begin with, but knighthood was an excellent way for him to expand his social horizons amongst Flash's high society. Verity has intervened many times about his egregious spending habits.

Seraphina
Age: 30

the taller twin "Eloped? No, no...that's just a joke between family. They were all well aware that Rhine and I had been courting. The only reason there hasn't been a wedding is because of an agreement Oriana and I made when we were young. Such a silly thing, really, but I keep to my promises, don't I?"

Oriana
Age: 30

the sturdier twin "Dearest family, I have chosen to extend the dates of my expedition at sea. Please let Seraphina know that I do not foresee any shared weddings in the near future, and that I would appreciate no further inquiry into the matter."

Horatio
Age: 28

gorgeous and perfectly aware. Well dressed, but there's always at least one piece of his outfit that's jauntily askew. He knows he can get away with it.

''"Me? A poor influence on my brother?" A look of horror crosses Horatio's face before giving way to his trademark dashing smile. "I certainly hope so! He could do with a bit of extra influence...outside of work hours, of course! Does he have those?"''

As the youngest of the second batch, Fidelio (26) was babied a bit by his older family members. As the previous three siblings began to leave home, Fido found himself more often lumped in with the younger three:

Terence, Charise and Floresta
This last set all had similar ideas about pursuing personal goals outside of the family business, but the first two were especially influenced by their trips to the Citadel with Loroso.

Terence has always fancied himself the black sheep of the family. Since his first visit to the Citadel, he has fostered a disdain for the mainland and has become dedicated to the concept of "proper" Triton culture. He left to join the Silver Trident ranks at the Citadel at his first opportunity.

Charise was gifted since birth with both magical inclinations and a lovely singing voice. As a child she fancied putting her singing voice to use by becoming a Shrinekeeper at the Citadel, but she eventually chose the more practical route of joining the Silent Scholars. She still dreams of hearing a Leviathan's song someday.

Floresta spent her childhood so impatient to catch up with her older siblings that it actually seemed as though she grew up incredibly fast. She knew she was destined for politics since her very first visit to the Jewel.

Terence
Age: 23

sullen, with a stuffy demeanor. Refuses to dress in anything but Triton formal-wear"'It was about time I moved to the Citadel for good. If I have to spend one more year listening to the heartsick sighs of my older brother, I'm going to feed myself to the sharks.' His deadpan expression does little to reveal whether he's speaking in jest."

Charise
Age: 22

quiet-natured and a bit shy. Spends a lot of time absorbing what she sees and hears"'Fido's always doing silly things, like putting on formal airs to make me laugh.' She gives a small smile, then cocks her head. 'I can tell when he's in a sad place, though. I don't think it's entirely about earning his silvers. The house has been so quiet lately. I think he's been rather lonely.'"

Floresta
Age: 20

the spitting image of her great grandmother. Can get feisty and confrontational when worked up about something"'I was still young when great-grandmother passed, but I feel as if I know her well just from how often she's brought up by the others. Fidelio idolized her. She was some sort of fairytale to him, her and Von.' She looks down from Amada's statue and straightens her collar with a spark in her eye. 'But behind every fairytale, there's a power system in place! Great-grandmother was a smart woman. She knew what she was doing when she began the family business here in Flash. I know for a fact I'll be doing her memory proud once there's a Bellata representing with the merchant sector.'"